Sunday, February 17, 2013

Hopworks Urban Brewery - Belgian-Style Pale Ale

Signed, sealed, delivered.

I'm always a little bit leery about beers in wax-sealed bombers. It usually means the beer is going to be more expensive than your typical craft beer. Beers with a wax seal are also touted as some kind of special, exceptionally crafted beer that the brewer is very, very proud to have bottled. I don't know. That wax on the top purports a certain level of expectation that I've found usually misses it...by...that...much. Also, the beer inside that sealed up bottle better be worth the gawd-damned trouble it took for me to get it open. Prying and cutting that stupid wax the f**k off of there. Come on!

Anyway, I guess the marketing strategy behind those wax tops works because I buy them all the time. "Ooooo, what do we have here?" I'm attracted like a moth to the proverbial flame.

I picked up this bottle of Hopworks Belgian-Style Pale Ale at Zupan's the other day. I posit that the brew is supposed to be a hybrid concoction of a NW pale ale with a Belgian twist. Sounded good to me.

After taking a steak knife to the wax and carving off enough to pop open the top, the beer poured into my goblet a bright, clear golden color. The white head foamed up fast and quickly faded away to a thin layer of lacing.

The aroma is primarily fruity--tangerine and pineapple. There are some yeasty, malty notes. Taste is citrus hops and yeast. Spicy, bitter finish with a thin mouthfeel. Aroma is bigger than the taste. I think I know what they were going for, but they missed it...by...that...much. Still, it's a pretty decent beer.

AWARDS!

About Me

Everybody needs a hobby, mine is drinking craft beer. When I'm not at work, you can find me on my deck, sipping on a cold one and manning my Weber Kettle. I love my wife, my kids and my dog, Merry the Wonder Beagle. I also love my adopted home, Portland, Oregon, the best damn beer city in these United States or anywhere else.